


Growing pains

by UnderZeWeather



Series: Hellfire farm [5]
Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, baby stuff, cuteness, first time dads, two dorks trying to parent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-01-31 17:54:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18596431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnderZeWeather/pseuds/UnderZeWeather
Summary: After some discussion Sebastian and Apollyon decide that they want to adopt a baby. As first time parents chaos, love, laughter and tears are bound to happen as everyone comes together and grows as a family.





	1. Lizzy

**Author's Note:**

> This should be the final story in the Hellfire farm series. I really wanted to do a story with the two of them being parents so here it is. The adoption process is wildly inaccurate since I have no idea how adoptions actually work but I stitched some common sense things together in hopes that it is semi accurate.
> 
> Kudos and comment when you can. I would love to hear any feed back or suggestions what shenanigans these two new parents would get up to with their baby. Enjoy :D

It happened kind of suddenly one day in Spring. Then again, maybe Sebastian should have seen this coming? He had been watching Apollyon going crazy talking about baby animals with Marnie when she would come over to check over their animals general health. He’d seen Apollyon squealing whenever Shane showed him any photos of the new baby chicks he’d hatched. He’d even seen Sebastian swaddle their hairless cat up in a cotton blanket, much to her displeasure.

It all came to a head during movie night. Instead of watching their usual Sci-fi stuff they had opted to watch some romcom that Emily had suggested to them. One of the side plots involved a couple expecting a baby and everyone arguing about the babies gender and how you could influence it depending on what you ate or what position it was conceived in.

Apollyon was sitting next to him on the couch, absentmindedly rubbing his hand over his own stomach when he suddenly said rather quietly. “I want a baby too…”

Sebastian nearly choked on a piece of popcorn when he said that. “Ah, come again?”

“Hmm? Oh, don’t worry about it… It’s just a silly thought.” Admitted his husband. “It’s just with Spring in the air you see way more baby animals around and it makes me think how nice it would be to be able to expand our family a little more… This would be a lot easier if I was a girl.”

“If you were a girl we wouldn’t have gotten married.” Reminded Sebastian. “I’m gay.”

“True. But you have to admit it's slightly easier to have a baby when one of the people involved has a uterus.”

“Yeah… and the other usually needs a dick.”

Apollyon nodded a little and looked down at his stomach, slowly rubbing it again. Sebastian didn’t really know what he was meant to make of this. Apollyon’s life would have been extremely difficult to explain to any normal person and he himself still had difficulty understanding some of the details. What he did kind of understand was that Apollyon, up until about a little over a year ago, was a demon. He was fully human now, 

But he believed Apollyon had mentioned that in his species of demon didn’t have a gender. Something about being a hermaphrodite. Similar to a slug, snail, or other moluscus. He was only male because the vessel he had been grafted into was male. He never expressed any discomfort or anything about being male to him in the first place so he just assumed Apollyon was fine with it. He never asked to be called by different pronouns or anything like that.

Now Sebastian was slightly concerned that he had been making Apollyon feel like shit for a while now… Then again maybe he was fine with being male and just had a yearning for parenthood? Maybe? He knew he was over thinking things once again. He always over thought things. 

Sebastian sighed and looked at his lover. “So, you really want to have a baby?”

Apollyon nodded. “Yes… We can either adopt, have a surrogate, or kidnapping, right?”

“... Um, let’s try the legal things first?” Suggested Sebastian. “We can fix up that other room upstairs into a nursery. Then we’ll have to do things like baby proof the house and then get an approval from an adoption agency. Then we just have to hope the person that takes on our case isn’t a homophobe...”

“You thought a lot about this haven’t you?” 

“Yeah. I want kids too you know.” Sebastian wrapped his arm around Apollyon’s shoulder and pulled him close. “I… I want to be a good dad for them.”

“Sebby, I know you’ll be a good dad.” Apollyon kissed his husband and smiled. “We can make improvements and make sure the whole house is childproof… Ah, but I work outside most of the day… And you stay at home…”

“I can be a stay at home dad.” Sebastian had wondered about how they would do things if they did have a child. He was okay with taking most of the parenting responsibilities for a while. Hopefully he’d be able to negotiate being able to sleep in during winter and let Apollyon take over baby duties. Plus he was sure his mum would go crazy about having a grandbaby.

Apollyon looked surprised but grinned quite happily when he heard that. “Really? I can concentrate on just doing farming for a while so I’ll just be on the farm. Oh! Imagine taking them to the beach for the first time! They’d love that! … Maybe they would try and eat sand?”

Sebastian snorted a little. “Maybe they would. Were you the kind of kid that ate sand?”

“Me? No… You on the other hand…”

“I didn’t eat sand. I hated going to the beach even when I was a kid… I ate mud.”

Now it was Apollyon’s turn to snort laugh. “Ah yes. The gourmet cuisine of the indigestible world. You were a connosure.” 

Sebastian rolled his eyes and poked Apollyon’s face. “Quiet dork. We’ll look more into this baby stuff tomorrow. Okay?”

Apollyon nodded in agreement and went back to watching the movie. 

***

Over the next few days the pair researched more about adoption in the Ferngill republic. It all seemed pretty standard and above board. With the adoption agency they had decided to go with they provided a basic checklist of the minimal things they would need for them to even consider giving anyone a child. It was easy enough to do and with the help of Robin the house was more than ready for any inspection.

When they got around to having someone from the adoption agency come over she was very happy with how everything was set up. She was a small woman with her hair pulled back in a tight bun. She had her little checklist that she went through as she walked with them.

“I must say your house is very lovely.” She said to the two of them.

Apollyon grinned. “Thank you. Sebastian’s mum is the local carpenter and she helped us upgrade the house and make it child proof.”

She nodded in approval. “Well she did a very good job… I do have a few concerns about all those spare wires in that side room in your bedroom?”

Sebastian sighed a little. “Ah, Yeah. That’s my stuff. I was in the middle of sorting through all that stuff before you came here. I usually keep that box and other loose sharp stuff in the plastic tub next to the computer.”

“Ah. Well just be a little more mindful of that.” She jotted a few more things down on her clipboard. “So, Apollyon, your occupation is farmer?”

“Yep.” He grinned. “Almost all the fresh fruit and vegetables grown in Pelican town come from my farm.”

“So would you say you have a stable income?”

Apollyon nodded. “Yep. In the basement I have a whole bunch of kegs and casks. Once a week I harvest my Ancient fruit and put it in a keg. Once I have made some wine I put it in a cask and age it to perfection. Every month I rake in a minimum of 125,400 gold. Minimum.”

The woman looked very impressed. “Well that is quite impressive.” She then looked over at Sebastian. “And you are a computer programmer?”

“Yeah… I do freelance work so it’s not as stable as Apollyon’s work. But I enjoy it and it pays well when they do.”

She nodded and wrote down a few more things. “Very good. Very good… Now, would you two be interested in having a daughter or a son?”

The two adults seemed surprised. They hadn’t really talked about that part of the whole adoption process. They told the woman as much and they were able to have a quick talk about it. They decided that in the end they would adopt a little girl. With that decided the woman shook their hands and let them know that it would take between a week to a season for all background checks and paperwork to be finalised. She left and the two men were more than a little excited.

***

Sooner than expected the lady came by again with a little baby girl all swaddled up in a green baby blanket. The two men were completely in love with the little girl and quickly signed the paperwork needed for them to legally be able to keep her. Once the woman was gone the new fathers sat on the couch with their baby girl in their arms.

They had decided to call her Lizzy. After Apollyon’s mum. Lizzy was a cute little chubby cheeked girl with dark hair, very similar to Sebastian’s own. They wondered what colour her eyes would be when she finally opened her eyes, but she was very sleepy. Apollyon held her and gently rocked her as she quietly slept. He smiled and kissed her forehead. 

“She’s perfect. I’ve only known her for like ten minutes but if anything happens to her I will kill everyone who hurt her and then myself.”

Sebastian chuckled a little and rolled his eyes. “I think you need to tone that down a little love. You’re going to end up scaring Lizzy.”

“Well she doesn’t understand what I’m saying just yet ya goof.” He cuddled Lizzy some more and she slowly started to stir. She made little fussy noises and started to wiggle around. “Oops?”

Lizzy continued to wiggle around before she opened her big brown doe eyes and blinked repeatedly. “Agawaaa?” She gurgled. “Agawaa babawaba! Babawa!”

Sebastian chuckled a little and held her pudgy hand. Immediately she grabbed hold of his finger and shoved her own fist in her mouth. “Well, isn’t she a talkative little baby.” Cooed Sebastian.

“She’s so cute and precious.” Apollyon cuddled her some more before he sighed reluctantly. “I have to go and check on the animals. Can you hold her while I’m out?”

“Yeah sure.” Sebastian happily held Lizzy in his arms as Apollyon quickly dashed out to get his farming duties finished. Lizzy looked up at him and he looked down at her. She gurgled and made weird baby noises. “Yes.” He said. “Whatever you just said I agree.” That seemed to please her because she squealed in delight and she suddenly wiggled her arms around for a moment before getting tired again.

Sebastian laughed and walked around the house with her. He decided to start heating up a bottle of formula for her in case she suddenly decided she was hunger. Thankfully she didn’t make much of a fuss. She simply fell asleep and started drooling all over his shirt. Kind of gross, but she was just a baby.

He walked into the nursery and hummed softly as he walked around the room with her. Tomorrow they would let his family and their friends know that Lizzy had arrived. He knew Robin would adore her to no end and ask to babysit her constantly. 

He heard Apollyon come back in and make his way to the nursery. He beamed when he saw his husband and daughter. “Showing Lizzy around the house?”

“Yeah. I was thinking of setting up the baby monitor too. She’s really sleepy.”

Apollyon nodded and started to set up the baby monitor. “Well, maybe she’s tired after her long car trip here? We’ll let her nap and get used to things. We’ll be telling your mum that Lizzy is here tomorrow, right?”

Sebastian nodded and carefully put his daughter in her crib, “We’re doing small crowds first right? No more than like two or three visitors at a time?”

“Right.” He looked down at Lizzy and smiled. “She’s so precious I love her so much… If we adopt another child, can we get a boy next time?”

“Sure. I wouldn’t mind having a son too.” Sebastian looked down at little sleeping Lizzy and smiled at her. “Let’s just see how we go with Lizzy first. Hopefully she won’t be much of a handful.”

***

The next day within an hour of informing Robin that Lizzy was home she was at the farmhouse with Demetrius in tow. At the time Apollyon was on the floor attempting to wrap her in a baby sling so he could take her out for a walk. Lizzy was making many baby noises as she wiggled on the ground. Still too tiny and weak to actually start crawling yet.

Robin squealed when she saw her and very carefully scooped her up. “Hello there Lizzy.” She cooed.

“Abwa agah Pffffffff!” Babbled the baby.

Robin laughed and cuddled her more. “Aw, you’re such a sweet little girl. She has your hair Sebby.”

“Yeah, and Apollyon’s eyes.” Said Sebastian.

She looked at her granddaughter and grinned. “Why yes she does. If I didn’t know any better I’d say she was definitely your biological daughter.”

Demetrius frowned a little. “Honey, brown eyes is a dominant gene. It’s no surprise that her eyes are brown since it’s the most common eye colour.”

“Oh you know what I mean.” Robin sat on the couch and happily rocked the little girl in her arms. “Has she settled in? Were you two able to get much sleep?”

Apollyon laughed a little as he started to boil some water to make tea and coffee. “She woke up a few times. Twice because she was hungry, three times because she needed a diaper change, once for both, and once because she wanted cuddles. You two want some tea or coffee?”

“Coffee thanks.” Said Demetrius. He quickly looked at Robin and she nodded while pulling a silly face at Lizzy. “Make that two coffees please.”

“You got it.” Apollyon quickly went to work while Sebastian sat with his parents and daughter.

Robin continued to make silly faces while Lizzy looked at her with a look of shock on her face. She didn’t seem to know what to make of her grandma. “Awaaaaa?”

Demetrius smiled a little. “She’s very talkative.”

Sebastian nodded in agreement. “Yeah. She’s a few months old so you know. She likes talking already. Soon she’ll be crawling around and trying to eat everything.”

Robin giggled. “Yep. So how has Goblin taking it?”

“The cat?” Sebastian looked to the stairs where Goblin was cautiously watching the interaction unfold. She didn’t seem to know what to make of the small, screaming, crying, pooping, tiny human that had invaded her home. For the moment it seemed like she was content to just glare Lizzy. If she tried to swipe at her though they would have to think about keeping Goblin away from her. “She’s staying away for now. Which is good.”

Apollyon came back with coffee for everyone and managed to exchange Lizzy with Robin for a cup of coffee. Immediately the little bub made a pleased sound and babbled on and on. “Ablah! Ablah yaaaa abwa! Bwa!”

Apollyon giggled and sat on the floor, once again attempting to swaddle Lizzy up to get her in a sling. It wasn’t working since she kept kicking and rolling around slightly. Sebastian found it endearing and cute how the two interacted. Clearly, no matter how you looked at it, Apollyon was a good father. He just adored everything about Lizzy and so did Sebastian.

Eventually Lizzy was settled in her sling and was happily looking around the room before yawning and slowly falling back to sleep. Apollyon grinned and carefully stood up, taking a few cautious steps around the room, very happy that she wasn’t falling out.

“I did it.”

“Good job Apollyon.” Said Sebastian. “Were you going to take her outside?”

“Yeah. Just a little walk around the farm. Nothing too far out there. She’s probably need a diaper change or food soon.” He waved goodbye to them and went outside with his sleeping daughter.

Once he left Robin couldn’t help but gush over how cute Lizzy was and how she was more than happy to babysit her whenever he and Apollyon ever needed a date night. Then again she just wanted to have Lizzy over any time. Demetrius also in agreement about that. All Sebastian could do was smile and nod. He was sure he’d need their help eventually with Lizzy.


	2. Chatterbox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More cuteness and fluffiness as the boys take their baby girl out and into the town. Kudos and comment when you can please. Enjoy :D

The following days were filled with lots of excitement for the new family with lots of people coming over to visit. Lizzy became extremely fussy and didn’t seem to like all the attention everyone was giving her. Her parents could sympathise with her. Neither of them were very good with lots of people interaction.

Once everyone had gotten over the excitement of the new baby the visits became less and Lizzy seemed to be a lot happier. She would happily babble for hours while being held in her dad’s arms and continuously tried to grab their hair. Due to this Sebastian had started pinning his side fringe back away from her grabby hands. Much to her displeasure.

Apollyon laughed a little when he came back in from farming to see Sebastian coding away at his desk while Lizzy was strapped to his chest. She was pouting and trying to grab at his face but only managing to touch his chin.

“What are you two doing?” He asked.

“Bwah!” Babbled Lizzy.

Apollyon nodded. “I see. Want me to take her?”

Sebastian shook his head. “Wash your hands first.”

“Sir yes sir.” Apollyon walked past him to the bathroom and quickly cleaned up. “You want to come with me to Harvey’s?”

“Harvey’s? You sick or something?”

“No. Lizzy needs a checkup and her vaccinations.”

Sebastian sighed a little and stood up, stretching. “Okay. I’m just going to change her first before we go.” A few minutes later Sebastian came back with Lizzy. She was now all dressed up in a frog onesie. A gift from uncle Sam and auntie Abby. Sebastian seemed to really like dressing Lizzy up as a frog. She seemed to like it too. “You want to carry her?”

“Yep. Gimmie.” Apollyon happily snatched up Lizzy and put her in a sling. She made a very pleased sound as she snuggled into his chest. “Aw, she’s so cute… She’s gonna hate us.”

“Yep. Let’s go.”

The family walked into town. Along the way Lizzy waved her arms around and babbled on and on about all the things she was seeing. Neither had any idea what she was so excited about but they nodded along.

When they got into the clinic Maru looked up at them and smiled. “Hey everyone. Lizzy all ready for her vaccinations?”

Lizzy wiggled her arms and reached out for Maru. “Blah!”

Sebastian shook his head. “She’s trying to grab your glasses Maru. She likes grabbing everything.”

Maru chuckled a little. “Ah, I see. Well take a seat and I’ll let Harvey know you’re here.” 

Minutes later the family was in Harvey’s office and Lizzy couldn’t help but stare at his moustache and glasses the second she saw him. Everyone thought this was very amusing to see. Lizzy really seemed to have a thing about faces at the moment. Harvey went over what vaccinations Lizzy would be getting today, what vaccinations she had received while at the orphanage, and he gave them a schedule to let them know what ones she would need over the next few months. 

“And of course any flu vaccinations for children are free.” Said Harvey. “So remember to come in early fall to get her flu shot.”

Apollyon nodded and lightly booped Lizzy’s nose. “Of course. Don’t want Lizzy feeling icky.”

“Bwah!” She went crosseyed and tried to grab his finger. She managed to grab it then decided to stick it in her mouth. Apollyon quickly replaced that with her pink flower pacifier. She seemed very pleased by this.

Harvey chuckled and handed Sebastian some keys. “You might want to use this to distract her.”

“Oh so I’m the bad guy now?” Asked Sebastian as he jingled the keys. In an instant Lizzy’s attention was on the keys. She seemed particularly interested with the little plane that was banging up against the keys.

While she was distracted Harvey quickly swabbed her chubby arm and quickly gave her the vaccination. For a moment there was silence. Then Lizzy started shrieking. Apollyon sighed a little and gently rocked Lizzy in his arms. She quietened down a little but she continued to sob.

“Sorry Lizzy.” Cooed Apollyon. “Harvey was just giving you a little medicine. You’ll be fine.” He carefully put her back in her sling and Sebastian gave Harvey back his keys. “We’ll set up the next vaccination date with Maru.”

Harvey nodded. “That would be a good idea. If she has any adverse reactions within the next ten minutes come back immediately.”

The parents agreed and walked out of the clinic. After waiting around ten minutes, with no adverse effects, the parents walked up to the playground near the community center. Lizzy was still very upset about getting her shots and pouted a lot. Every now and then she would make a very angry noise. Sebastian did attempt to silence her with her pacifier but that didn’t last for too long.

“Well, now she hates us.” Mutter Sebastian.

“Give her some time.” Said Apollyon. “She’ll come around in a little bit. One her arm stops feeling sore she’ll be all smiles and laughs in no time… Until then she is a little angry bullfrog.”

“She’s not a bullfrog. She’s a grumpy tree frog.” 

“GAH!” Yelled Lizzy as she spat her dummy out again.

“Maybe she’s hungry?” Suggested Sebastian. He got a bottle of formula out of the bag he was carrying with him and offered it to Lizzy. With slight reluctance Lizzy started drinking. When she was done Apollyon burped her and she decided to take a nap.

It gave the parents some time to relax and somewhat enjoy the weather. Though Sebastian still didn’t like being outside on such a sunny day. As they were relaxing they were approached by Evelyn on her way to the community center.

“Hello dears. Would that be little Lizzy?”

Apollyon nodded. “Yep. She’s having a little nap now.”

Evelyn peeked down at her and smiled. “She’s so adorable. I’m sorry George and I haven’t been able to make it out to the farm to introduce ourselves to her. I can just tell she’s going to become quite a handful when she gets bigger.”

Apollyon smiled and very gently rocked Lizzy. “Yeah. But she’s worth it.”

“They always are. Well I have business in the community center. Hopefully I’ll be seeing you tree around a lot more.”

They waved at Evelyn as she slowly walked to the old building. Once she was out of earshot Sebastian sighed in relief. Apollyon gave him a look and Sebastian reluctantly explained. “Look, she’s nice and everything but like… She’s never really talked much to me? I know she’s nice and all that but like… You know… We aren’t really friends or anything.”

“Fair enough.” Apollyon leaned over and kissed Sebastian’s cheek. “She’s just a really nice, sweet old lady. Maybe if she likes Lizzy she’ll make us cookies?”

“... Well aren’t you all greedy for no reason?”

“She makes damn good cookies.” Lizzy started to stir again. “Oops… Guess we should head home? She might need a diaper change again soon… or you know, just crap herself to spite us after taking her to see Harvey.”

“Wouldn’t put it past her. She’s your daughter.” Said Sebastian as he stood up. “Plus you know; babies are screaming crap factories.”

“She’s your daughter too you rude man.” Apollyon got up and happily followed his husband back to the farm. It was a good thing they left when they did. When they passed the bus stop Lizzy started screaming again. Needless to say they figured out why she was freaking out so much once they could smell it. Sebastian was right. Babies are screaming crap factories.

***

Later that night Apollyon watched Lizzy playing with Sebastian while he was cooking dinner. In other words Lizzy was rolling around on the floor while Sebastian was making sure she didn’t face plant or eat her hand or something. He managed to get her attention every now and then by jingling some plastic toy keys above her head every few minutes.

Apollyon chuckled and lightly stirred the vegetables around in the pan. “Is she doing okay?”

“She’s fine. She really liked keys.” He jingled the keys around a little and got Lizzy’s attention.

“Bwah!” She reached for the keys and when Sebastian let her get a hold of one she immediately put a green plastic key in her mouth. “Bwah!”

“I think she likes green.” Mused Sebastian. “Makes sense. She’s a frog after all.”

Apollyon chuckled. “Yeah. When it rains do you want to take her out to see a frog? Last time it rained a few dozen happened to pop up in Dusk’s water trough… Pretty sure we managed to fish all the frog spawn out of it.”

“Yeah. That sounds like a good idea.”

Suddenly the front door opened up and Sam and Abby walked in. “Knock knock.” Called Abby. “The cool kids are here.”

Apollyon rolled his eyes. “Cool or not I’m not making dinner for either of you.”

“That’s fine.” Said Sam. “We weren’t planning to stay long anyway.” He sat by Sam and looked down at Lizzy. “Hello Lizzy. Uncle Sam is back.” He reached out and lightly booped her cheek. Lizzy squealed in delight and started flailing her limbs around.

“Aw, no love for aunt Abby?” She cooed as she sat on the other side of Sebastian and have Lizzy’s tiny foot a little squeeze. Lizzy made more happy sounds and attempted to wiggle closer to Abby. “Awwww, she loves me too. How long till she starts crawling and walking?”

Sebastian shrugged. “Baby books say a few months. She’ll be walking in about a year… Since she’s already a few months old she should be crawling soon.”

“Bwabwa ba!” Babbled Lizzy as she rolled onto her belly, then her back, then her belly again. “Gah!”

Sam laughed. “She’s a loud one, huh? How long till she starts talking?”

“Baby books say anywhere between six to eighteen months.” Said Sebastian. “I reacon she’s gonna be saying basic words by the end of Summer.”

Abby nodded a little and frowned. “So… what is she going to call you two? You can’t both be dad. That’ll get confusing.” 

Apollyon shook his head. They had both had a long discussion about this a few times. “Sebastian’s going to be dad and I’m going to be pa. Maybe she’ll call me papa?”

“Bwah! Bwagabah!” Babbled Lizzy as Abby picked her up and carefully moved her into a sitting position. “... Aaaaaaaaaa!!!” She clapped her hands and babbled more and more as she looked around the room.

Sam cringed a little. “I almost forgot how loud babies are… So does she scream like that to wake you guys up at night?”

With a defeated sigh Sebastian nodded. “Yeah. She screams. Not even calling out to get attention. She just screams… Screaming is just her thing. She likes the sound of her own voice.”

“Do you think she’ll be interested in singing?” Asked Sam. “She could be really into screamo?”

“Please don’t encourage her.”

Lizzy threw her toy keys down and launched herself backwards into Abby’s leg. She giggled and clapped her hands when she landed on the older woman’s thigh. “Gah! Gah! Agawagah! Bwah! Aga! Agabwa!”

Abby laughed and booped Lizzy’s nose. “I think she likes that idea. Lizzy’s gonna be a singer. Make way for Lizzy and the lizards.”

Sebastian face palmed. “I just lost ten years of my life…”

Apollyon sighed a little and started to puree some carrots and peas in a blender for Lizzy. “Please Abby… Don’t give her any ideas just yet. She doesn’t even know how to walk yet, or talk… Do either of you want to have a go at feeding her?”

Abby raised her hand. “Gimme that baby food.”

Sebastian put Lizzy in her high chair, Apollyon put on her frog bib, and they gave Abby the baby food. After she managed to get Lizzy to eat one mouthful of baby food she the promptly spat out the second mouthful she ended up spitting out and laughing at Abby’s grossed out expression.

***

Eventually Sam and Abby went back home and the residents of the farm house got ready for bed. Lizzy got put in a clean owl onesie and got tucked into her crib. She fell asleep as soon as she was placed on the mattress and the two adults quickly escaped to the bedroom to get some sleep before Lizzy inevitably woke up.

Around two in the morning Lizzy woke up and started crying. It was Sebastian’s turn to look check on her and he reluctantly went to see what was going on. Lizzy was flailing her arms and crying up a storm by the time Sebastian came in to check on her.

Once she saw Sebastian she quietened down a little and reached out for him. “Aaaaa!”

Sebastian smiled a little and picked her up. He checked her diaper and got her a bottle of warm formula. He sat on the child bed in the nursery and carefully fed her while humming some miscellaneous song. It might have been a nursery rhyme or a song Sam had written. He wasn’t too sure.

He yawned a little and looked down at Lizzy who had finished her bottle. “Okay let’s burp you and get you back into bed.”

Once he was done burping her he went to put Lizzy down when she reached out and grabbed his shirt. “Dada.” 

“... Come again?”

“Dada dada dada!” 

“Oh sweet Yoba. Your first words…” He picked up the baby monitor. “Hey Apollyon, Lizzy said her first word. She called me dada.” He held it up to Lizzy’s face. “Go on. Say it again for your pa.”

“Dada!”

Sebastian grinned and kissed Lizzy’s cheek. “Good girl. Now time to sleep precious. Okay?”

“Dada.”

“Yes that’s me now sleep.” He put her back in her crib and waited a few more minutes for her to fall asleep. He then went back to bed feeling kind of giddy. He crawled back into bed next to Apollyon and grinned. “She called me dada.”

“Hmmm, I heard.” Muttered a very sleepy Apollyon. “We’ll talk more about it tomorrow… Now sleep.”


	3. Frog family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, time works weird in video games. I kind of imagine Lizzy kind of just sprouted up so now she can talk and kind of walk around. So she's like a toddler now? Idk. Either way she kind of goes from saying some words and kind of walking to walking and makes short sentences in a few weeks. Video game logic people. Anyway, kudos and comment when you can . Enjoy the fluff. :D

A few weeks later Lizzy was happily crawling around the house on her own. She’d picked up a few new words and just a happy girl in general. At the moment Sebastian had confined Lizzy to the baby pen or the baby jail, as he called it, in the bedroom while he was doing work. She happily picked up her toy frog and bounced it along the floor of the baby pen.

“Boing. Boing. Boing. Boing. Boing.” She said quietly as she moved the frog.

Once in a while Sebastian looked over at her to make sure she was okay. “You okay Lizzy?”

“Boing, boing dada!” She said happily as she waved her toy around in the air. “Boing!”

“Okay.” He typed in a few more lines of code before Lizzy distracted him again.

“Dada? Papa?”

“Papa’s going to be home around lunch time. He’s down at the beach talking to Willy right now.”

“... Bich!”

Sebastian snorted and tried not to laugh at her mispronouncing beach. “Beach Lizzy. Beeeeech.”

Lizzy blinked a few times, screwed up her face, and whispered very quietly. “Bich.”

Sebastian shook his head and continued to code. “No Lizzy. It’s beach not bich. Your grandma wouldn’t be very happy to hear you say bich.”

“... BICH!” She grinned and made a small giggling noise. She was obviously having fun being naughty and not doing what Sebastian wanted.

Sebastian face palmed and looked down at his daughter. “Do you just want out of the baby jail?”

Hearing that Lizzy reached up and made grabby hands at him. “Up! Up! Up! Dada! Up!” 

Sebastian quickly saved his work and picked Lizzy up. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. She really was a daddy’s girl. She had quickly grown attached to Sebastian a little more than Apollyon. But that was kind of expected since Sebastian stayed at home with her. She still loved Apollyon, but if she had to choose a favourite parent it would probably have been him.

“Hey Lizzy? Wanna go down to the beach to see if Papa’s still there?”

“Papa!” Sebastian grinned and helped Lizzy onto her boots. She then grabbed hold of her favourite frog beanie and pulled it on, grinning. “Boing! Boing! Boing!”

“Yep. You’re a cute little frog Lizzy. Lizzy the frog.”

He picked her up and happily walked down to the beach with her. Along the way Lizzy happily babbled on about all kinds of things. She was starting to speak in sentence fragments now and only spoke in baby babble when she didn’t know what something was. She also seemed to make up words that sounded similar to the thing she was talking about

“Aaaaa, but fly! Dada flower! Flower Dada! Dada! Dada! Oooh! Boing!” 

Sebastian laughed a little and shook his head a little at her words. “You like flowers huh? Did you know your Papa grows lots of flowers? He’ll show you all the farming things when you get older. When you’re a big girl he’ll show you how to grow flowers and look after the chickens.”

Lizzy gasped. “Buck, buck?”

“Yep the chickens. The buck bucks.”

Luzzy grinned. “Buck buck! Buck buck! Buck buck!”

As the walked they happened to walk by Sam, who was heading to the saloon for lunch. “Hey there you two. Having a daddy daughter day?”

“Every day is a daddy daughter day.” Said Sebastian.

“Buck bucks!” Said Lizzy excitedly. “Buck bucks!”

Sam nodded a little and looked at Sebastian for conformation. “She’s excited about chickens.”

“Ah okay. You two coming into the saloon for lunch?”

“Maybe. We’re going down to the beach first to see if Apollyon’s still there.”

Sam nodded. “Okay. You going to come to band practice tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Apollyon’s got a bunch of kids movies to watch with Lizzy tomorrow night.”

“Sounds like fun. Later Seb.” Sam waved at them as he headed into the saloon. 

Sebastian smiled a little and headed down to the beach. Lizzy hadn’t been to the beach before and she was excited. She squealed and pointed to the seagulls, and the crabs, and the shells. She was just so excited about everything around her. 

Sebastian carefully put her down and she took a few wobbly steps forward before falling over and picking up some driftwood. Thankfully she didn’t stick it in her mouth, but she did slp it against the sand a few times. He watched her playing around laughing and and smacking whatever she could reach with the driftwood But when she smacked a crab he took it off her.

“No Lizzy. We don’t hit living things. Hitting rocks is fine, but no living things.” He reprimanded. “That is mean You’re not mean are you?”

Lizzy shook her head. “No mean! Boing! Boing!”

“Are you saying you’re a frog and frogs aren’t mean?”

Lizzy paused for a moment as she thought over what Sebastian just said to her. “... No mean!” She slowly got up and started to slowly waddle to the water. “No mean. No mean.”

Sebastian closely followed her and occasionally looked over to the pier. He saw Apollyon leave Willy’s shop and he waved at him. Apollyon waved back and quickly headed over to his family. Sebastian poked the top of Lizzy’s head. “Hey Lizzy, look over there.”

Lizzy quickly looked around and squealed with delight when she saw Apollyon. “Papa!” She waddled over to him and grabbed hold of his leg. She giggled and pointed to her beanie. “Boing, boing Papa! Boing, boing!” Apollyon laughed and picked up his baby girl, cuddling her and giving her a kiss on the cheek. Suddenly Lizzy squirmed and tried to get away from him. “Papa stinky! Stinky Papa!”

Apollyon frowned a little and sniffed his jacket. “Aw, I smell a little fishy but I don’t stink that badly.”

“No! Papa stinky!”

Apollyon rolled his eyes and put Lizzy back down. “Well I’m stinky because I was helping Willy with some of his fish. The fish were stinky.” He looked up at Sebastian and grinned. “So you broke Lizzy out of baby jail just to see me?”

Sebastian nodded. “Yep. Want to come to the saloon for lunch?”

“Sounds good to me. As long as I’m not too stinky. Am I too stinky Lizzy?”

Lizzy scrunched up her face as she thought about it before nodding. “Not too stinky.”

“Thank you Lizzy.”

The family made it to the saloon and sat at a table. Gus quickly scooted out from behind the bar and got a high chair for Lizzy. He mentioned something about not having to use this for a few years since Jas and Vincent had been toddlers. He gave Lizzy a box of crayons and a placemat to colour in, which she happily did while Sebastian and Apollyon ordered food. They got Lizzy some apple slices and chicken fingers.

Apollyon smiled as he watched Lizzy colour in her picture of a butterfly. He sighed contently. “Sebastian? I want another one.”

“... You want another kid?”

“Yeah. I want a little boy Do you want another one too or is Lizzy enough?”

Sebastian thought for a bit as he looked at the bubbly young girl. She had given up colouring the butterfly and just started colouring the area around it instead. “Let’s wait another season before we make that decision. I want to trust Lizzy not to stick a fork in an electric socket before we take on a little boy.”

“Okay fair enough.”

***

A few weeks later Apollyon had taken Lizzy to the chicken coop to feed the chicken, ducks, and rabbits. She was very excited and quickly followed the long eared fluff ball around. “Boing, boing, boing.” She whispered quietly. The rabbit didn’t seem to like being followed and did its best to keep away from her.

Apollyon laughed and took a dinosaur egg out of his backpack and stuck it in the incubator. He’d just found another one and was interested to see if they really would be able to hatch a dinosaur from this.

“Papa!” Called Lizzy as she quickly walked over to him. She had managed to catch the rabbit and was holding it in her arms. “I got the bunny!”

“Yes you did. But you should hold them like this.” He adjusted Lizzy’s arms so the rabbit was more comfortable. “There. Now Stew’s back won’t be all sore.”

Lizzy nodded and gave Stew a few pats. “No hurty back for Stew.” She walked over to a hay bale and sat down with the rabbit. Stew seemed to have calmed down a little and reluctantly let her pat him some more. “Fluffy.”

Apollyon chuckled and went about mucking out the rest of the coop. Lizzy was growing up so quickly. Soon Penny would be teaching her how to read bigger words and write. He and Sebastian had been teaching her some basic words and how to write her own name, along with the words papa and dad. She was going to be amazing.

“So Lizzy?”

“Yeah Papa?”

“You know how your dad and I adopted you, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You like being with us, right?”

Lizzy nodded. “Yeah! Dad and Papa are the best! I love living with you!”

Apollyon grinned. “That’s good… Well, your dad and I have been thinking about maybe adopting another child, a little boy this time. So we can make them just as happy as you.”

“... No.” Lizzy crossed her arms and pouted. “No. No. No. No. No. Not sharing Papa and dad. No.”

Apollyon chuckled a little at her stubbornness. He sat down next to her on the ground and patted a chicken when it strutted by his leg. “Lizzy, if we bring another child into our family we wouldn’t love you any less. Your dad and I love you dearly and will love you just the same no matter how many children come to live with us. Lizzy, you are our first child. You’re so important to us, and I think you would be a good big sister.”

Lizzy frowned and put Stew back on the floor. “Do you mean that?”

“Of course I do.” He smiled at her. “Things will change for a little bit if you get a baby brother. Your dad and I will need to pay a little more attention to him.”

She made a mad noise and crossed her arms. “No.”

“But that’s because babies need to be constantly looked after Lizzy.” Explained Apollyon. He reached up and held her hand, giving it a small squeeze. “When you first arrived the only time you were put down to be on your own was when it was bedtime or you were home alone with us and we needed to use the bathroom. It’ll be like that but for a while.”

“... Dad will be spending all his time with the new baby?” She asked quietly.

“Well, your dad and I both think that since he works at home that he would be the best fit to look after a baby… But you know what? That’s okay. Maybe you’d like to spend some time with me?” He suggested. “I’d like to have someone help me do things like pick mushrooms and salmon berries. There are a few cool places around the town I’d like to take you now that you’re a big girl.”

“...” She nodded a little. “I’m a big girl.”

“Yep. You’re a very big girl and you know what? When we go out you can find all kinds of cool things. I’m sure your dad would love to see what cool things you can find.”

“Yeah! I can get dad all the cool things!” She seemed very excited about that, but quickly frowned again. “But why have another baby?”

Apollyon sighed a little. It was time to open up to his daughter a little. “Well, you see when I was growing up I didn’t have any brothers or sisters. That’s because your nanna had a lot of trouble having me. She was very tired after I was born and we weren’t living in a very nice place for most of my childhood, so your nanna decided to not have anymore children. I was very lonely growing up… We don’t live in a town with a lot of kids around your age Lizzy and I’d like you to be able to talk to someone your age.”

“... But dad doesn’t talk much to aunt Maru.”

“Well your dad and aunt Maru have had a very awkward relationship growing up. But it’s a lot better now. Whenever your dad goes to visit grandma he always takes time to talk to aunt Maru when she is there. He’s doing his best to be a good big brother to her now.”

“Hmm… okay.” She pulled some hay out of the hay bale and started fiddling with it. “... I wanna be a good big sister.”

“You’ll be the best big sister.” Apollyon stood up and dusted off his pants. “Well, you won’t need to worry about being a big sister for a while. Your dad and I still need to decide if having another baby in the house is something we really want, and then there’s all the paperwork and things we need to do before we can even think of having another one.”

Lizzy stared at him with a blank expression. She didn’t seem to have a clue about what he was talking about. “Okay Papa.”

That was fine though. She didn’t really need to understand that kind of stuff. He picked her up and happily spun her around, making her giggle and squeal. “Want to have a horsey ride? We need to take Dusk out for a walk.”

Lizzy grinned. “Yeah! I love Dusk! Dusk! Dusk! Dusk! Dusk!”

He laughed and happily took his daughter to the stables and put her on Dusk’s back. He carefully instructed her on how to sit and to hold on tightly to the horn. Her legs were still too short to reach the stirrups so the horn was the best thing he could do was hold the horn as tight as she could.

Dusk huffed a little and started to lazily walk around the farm as he was lead by Apollyon. Lizzy was giggling and happily patted Dusk’s mane several times. She really enjoyed being on the farm and that made Apollyon happy.

He wished he’d have known he’d inherited the farm sooner. He and his mum could have started living there sooner. He had understood her reasoning that it was safer to live in the city where there were more people, but still. This place was amazing. After everything that had happened he still couldn’t believe how perfect it was. To him there was no other place that he could imagine himself living anymore.

He looked to his daughter and couldn’t help but smile. She was absolutely perfect. He hoped that she would always be this happy, but he knew the reality of that. There was no way she’d be happy all the time. Just like him, she was never going to be happy all the time. But he and Sebastian could do what they could to keep her happiness alive.

“Papa!”

“Yes Lizzy?”

“Love you!”

“Aw, I love you too Lizzy. You’re always gonna me our number one daughter.”

She giggled and grinned. “Yeah! How long till Dad is done with work?”

“Dad isn’t working today.” Said Apollyon. “Today he’s working on his motorbike.”

“Motorbike?”

Apollyon nodded. “Yeah. It’s that two wheeled thing that sounds like a lawnmower. He’s trying to fix a sidecar to it so you can come riding with us.”

Lizzy’s eyes went wide with excitement. “Really? Can we go now? Can we? Can we? Can we?”

He laughed a little. “Probably not baby girl. Your dad needs to make sure that it’s safe first before you can go for a ride. Do you want to see him working?”

“Yeah!”

They slowly walked back up to the stable and took Dusk’s saddle off, giving him a few good pats. Lizzy gave him a few scoops of oats in his food trough too. Dusk was very pleased with them and settled back in very well.

The two then headed over to the side of the house where Sebastian was busy under his motorbike changing the oil. Immediately Lizzy ran over to him and latched onto his leg. “Daddy!”

“AH?!” Sebastian jerked his leg in surprise and dropped whatever tools he was using. He sighed and slowly moved out from under the bike and sat up. Thick oil covered his chin, neck, and shoulders.

Lizzy blinked in surprise as she saw her dad. “... What happened daddy?”

Apollyon tried very hard not to laugh his head off, but smiled at how innocent his daughter asked that one question. “Yeah Sebby. What happened?”

Sebastian rolled his eyes and grabbed a hand towel he had been using to wipe grease off his hands and started wiping off the oil that coated him. “I happened to drop a cap when a little frog suddenly jumped on my leg.” He poked Lizzy’s nose and got a bit of grease on her snoot, which made her go cross eyed. “So what’s up?”

“Lizzy wants to go for a ride once the side car is put in.”

“Ah, well that will be a few days.” Said Sebastian. “I have a few small parts that need to come in to make sure it’s okay.”

Lizzy pouted but nodded. “Okay dad.”

He smiled at Lizzy and poked her cheek. “Now you’re a greasy frog.”

“Ah! I’m not a greasy frog! Papa! Dad is being mean!”

Apollyon chuckled. “Aw, don’t be mean to Lizzy.”

Sebastian smirked and slowly got up. “I guess you’re right… Why don’t you come here and give me a hug?”

“... Nope.” Apollyon tried to make a run for the house, but Sebastian managed to grab hold of him and hugged him. He got oil and grease all over Apollyon, who just squirmed and yelped. “Nooooooooooo!!!”

Lizzy just watched her parents and giggled. “Now we’re all greasy frogs!”


	4. Rory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And since for some reason you always suddenly get a second baby in this game, have another baby. Kudos and comment please. Enjoy :D

After much discussion in the family it was agreed that they would adopt a boy. The process was a lot easier the second time since they went through the same people, and even got the same woman helping them. They caught up a bit and Lizzy was more than happy to talk about all the cool and fun things she’s done on the farm.

After about a week after the woman’s visit the family welcomed little Rory into their family. Compared to Lizzy, Rory was quiet and not very fussy. He slept peacefully in his sling when his parents out him in it. He didn’t crawl around too much. He didn’t scream and cry as often as Lizzy did.

It kind of worried Sebastian and Apollyon, so they took him down to the clinic to see if there was something wrong with Rory. Harvey did a few simple tests and looked over Rory’s medical history from the orphanage and quickly came to a conclusion.

“Rory’s nearsighted.” Said Harvey. He can’t see things that are far away which probably explains why he doesn’t crawl around so much or call out. He can’t see so he doesn’t know.”

Apollyon felt very relieved. He looked down at Rory and smiled. “Well that’s good. When you get bigger we can get you glasses.” Rory looked up at him with his big green eyes and tilted his head a little and squinted. “... He’s very nearsighted isn’t he?”

Harvey nodded. “Very. I can set you up to see a specialist so that he can have a pair of glasses soon. He might become a little more lively once he can see properly.”

Turns out Harvey was correct. Once they went to the optometrist and Rory got his glasses he was a lot more active. He was still pretty quiet, but at least now he could call out and crawl to anyone when he needed help. Though he seemed to like crawling after Goblin. The cat wasn’t very happy about this, but was happy to nap next to the baby when he was sleepy.

One stormy afternoon Apollyon was sitting in bed with Lizzy laying across his legs while Rory was resting against his chest. He was reading them a story; The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It was a gift from Abby. Sebastian had joked that it was a book about Abby’s hero. Just change what it’s eating from fruit to rocks.

“On Tuesday he ate through two pears, but he was still hungry.” Said Apollyon. He showed the image to his son and noted his reaction. Rory stared at the colourful image with wide eyes. He had a tiny smile on his face when he saw it. “What do you two think the caterpillar ate on Wednesday?”

“Gah!” Said Rory.

“Strawberries?” Chimed in Lizzy, Though she wasn’t too sure.

Apollyon chuckled a little. “Well, let’s see who’s correct.” He turned the page and continued to read. “On Wednesday he ate through three plums, but he was still hungry.”

“What’s a plum?” Asked Lizzy.

“Plums are prunes.” Called Sebastian from his computer. His fingers were flying across the keyboard as he quickly typed away. Apparently he had gotten a client with a relatively easy problem to solve.

Apollyon shook his head. “Well, your dad is kind of right. All prunes are plums, but not all plums are prunes.”

“... Huh?” Lizzy was confused.

He smiled at his daughter and put the book down. “You see Lizzy, not all plums can become prunes. Some plums aren’t sweet enough to become prunes. Only really sweet plums can become prunes. Kind of like raisins and grapes.”

Lizzy nodded slowly and moved over so she was sitting next to Apollyon. She looked down at Rory and frowned a little. “Was I that small?”

“Yep. Even smaller.”

“No way.”

“Yes way.” Said Apollyon. “Soon he’s gonna get big. Just as big as you.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Hey, I’m a farmer. I have a fairly good idea about how things grow.”

She scrunched her face up and frowned. “I guess so…”

Rory squirmed a little and made a slightly annoyed sound. “Eeeeeerrrrrrr!”

“I think Rory wants you to keep reading Papa.”

“I think so too.” Apollyon picked up the book and kept reading. By the time he got to the end of it Rory was yawning and looking kind of sleepy. “Aw, I think it’s time for Rory to go to bed.” He made a small disapproving sound. “Or not.”

Sebastian chuckled a little and stood up. He leaned back and cracked his back before cracking his knuckles too. It made the occupants on the bed cringe a little when hearing that. He just shrugged. “Come on Lizzy. Get your raincoat on. You wanted to see some frogs right?”

“Yeah!” Lizzy quickly ran off to change into more weather appropriate clothes.

Apollyon chuckled a little at his daughter’s excitement and looked down at Rory. “Mind of we tag along? You two are just going to go over to the Library, right? I can take Rory into the Library and show him all the cool things I put in the museum while you two get all muddy.”

“Sounds like a plan. You gonna put a jumper on him?”

Apollyon nodded. “Yeah. Robin sent us smore more baby clothes. You were here when she dropped them off. She gave Lizzy a wooden horse.”

“... I see.”

His husband smiled and dressed Rory up in a warm knitted jumper. It was purple with a little frog patch stitched on the front of it. He wiggled and squirmed around a little. But all in all he quickly settled down. By the time Rory was all dressed up Lizzy came down wearing her frog rain poncho. She said something about it helping to attract frogs or something. 

Sebastian and Apollyon got their umbrellas and the family headed down to the Library. Sebastian showed Lizzy some places where the frogs liked to hide and Apollyon went into the Library with Rory. It was warm and quiet in the Library like always.

Gunther looked up from his place behind the counter. “Afternoon Apollyon. Who’s your partner?”

Apollyon smiled and walked over to him. “This is Rory. Thought I’d bring him in here while Sebastian and Lily are frog hunting.”

“Good idea. You need any help finding the kids section?” He asked. “Sam’s working today and he’s practically memorised the whole place.”

“Oh, we’ll I’m glad he’s settled in so well. We might get a few books.”

Gunther nodded and went back to work. Apollyon took that as his cue to go and look at the books or the museum stuff. He decided to take Rory to see the junk he had dug up. Especially the gemstones since they were the most colourful and would probably hold his interest the most.

“That one right there Rory, that’s an amethyst.” Said Apollyon. “Auntie Abby likes to crunch on those ones. She says that purple is the best flavour.”

Rory blinked up at him a few times. “Ah?” He then shoved his fist into his mouth.

“Yep. I have no idea how she can eat it either. She is a scary woman.” He looked around a little for a very particular mineral, and quickly walked to it when he saw it. “ Here’s one with a good story. This is a ghost crystal. When I was in the mines I had to fight off so many ghosts and soot sprites.”

“Mmmmmmmmmmmmmph!”

“Yeah, it’s true you little doubter.” Said Apollyon. “I had to whack them away, but it was worth it because I also found a small bundle of frozen tears. Your dad loves frozen tears. It’s one of the first gems I gave him.” He smiled fondly at those memories. It was hard to imagine doing those kinds of things had lead him to this. “When you’re older you tell me what gems are your favourite and I’ll get them for you.” After a little while Apollyon took a seat and read Rory a few books. He seemed to really enjoy rainbowfish.

***

Outside Sebastian had crouched behind a frog and was trying to show Lizzy how to safely catch one without hurting it. With a swift hand motion he managed to clasp the slimy amphibian and held it up for her to see.

“And that’s how it’s done.”

The frog made an undignified noise as Lizzy stared at the frog in awe. “That’s so cool! So cool! Can I hold him?”

“When I let them go they’ll jump away.”

Lizzy pouted. “Okay… What now?”

“Well, you look at the frog, give it some pats, and put them back down so they can keep being a frog.”

“But what if it wants to be my friend?” She asked. “Can I take them home?”

“... You can only bring them home if they are hurt so your Papa and I can help them get better.” He said. “Frogs like living outside a lot better than they do inside.”

Lizzy didn’t look like she believed him, but accepted his answer anyway. She crouched down near a spot Sebastian had told here was a good spot to find frogs and quietly waited to find her own frog. Sebastian couldn’t help but chuckle. From behind Lizzy looked like a very big green frog. She was so sweet and cute. He hoped that she would never change.

Suddenly she stood up and quickly walked over to him. “Dad! Dad! Look!” She opened up her hands and a small green frog looked up at them with it’s big muddy eyes. It then jumped at Sebastian and landed on his face. “... Oops?”

Sebastian sighed a little, put down the frog he caught, and carefully removed the from his face. “Nice frog Lizzy, but you know, they like to jump.”

“Yeah… Sorry dad. It was a small froggy.”

“Yep. It is.” He put the small frog down and watched it hop away into the water. “Frogs sure love to swim. Why do you think that is Lizzy?”

“Ummmmmm, because they like being slimy?”

“Possibly. If I was a frog I think I’d like being slimy.”

“Me too! Me too! Me too!” She grinned at her dad, then suddenly frowned. “... Dad? Are you going to start calling Rory a frog too? That’s our thing. Not a Rory thing.”

He smiled a little at his daughter. She often said these kinds of things. Robin had said that he had said similar things to her when Maru was born. Must have been an oldest child thing. He crouched down in front of her and smiled softly. 

“Lizzy, you are the only girl in our family. We love you lots and lots. The frog thing is a family thing, kind of. I really like frogs and you really like frogs, but papa likes all kinds of animals. Rory might not like frogs. I might call Rory a frog from time to time, but frogs is always going to be an us thing. Rory isn’t taking anything away from you, he’s just adding to the family… Do you not want Rory to stay with us?”

“... No… Rory can stay… I guess… He’s just a baby…”

“Yep… and you know what? I think that when Rory is older he might like learning how to catch frogs from his big sister.”

“Hmmmm, okay. I wanna teach Rory how to catch froggies.”

He smiled at her and rubbed a bit of mud off her cheek, but ended up just smudging it across her face instead. Luckily Apollyon would have a bunch of baby wipes on him since he had Rory with him and everything. “Never doubt that me and your Papa love you. You’re a good frog Lizzy.”

She beamed at him. “Okay. Thank you dad. Can we go inside now? I’m getting cold and stuff.”

“Sure thing.”

The two of them walked into the Library and Sebastian helped Lizzy take off her poncho. Gunther cautiously watched the soggy duo and gave them a nod of acknowledgement when they looked his way. Once Lizzy was free of her poncho she quickly headed over to the table where Apollyon and Rory were and sat down.

“Dad showed me where to catch frogs and he caught a frog and then I caught one and it jumped onto his face, and-”

Apollyon put his finger up to his lips. “A little quieter please Lizzy. You have to use your quiet inside voice when you’re in the Library.”

“Oh, okay.” Lizzy crouched down a little and made herself as small as she could while still in her chair. She spoke in a quiet voice. “Dad had a frog on his face and he made a weird face.”

Apollyon chuckled a little and looked up at his husband. “Really now? Well you both have some mud on your faces, so why don’t we go over to the saloon for a bit? I heard Gus is making lava cake. You two can go and wash up in the bathroom too.”

“Oooh! Lava!” Lizzy looked up at Sebastian with big pleading eyes. “Can we go dad? Can we? Can we?”

Sebastian shrugged. “Sure. Is Rory okay?”

“Yeah he’s good.” Apollyon looked down at Rory and rubbed a little bit of spit off his bottom lip. “I think he’s starting to get a little sleepy. If not now, he’s going to sleep well tonight.”

“That’s good.”

Lizzy held up a graphic novel. “Dad, can I borrow this one?”

“...” Sebastian took it from her and quickly flipped through it. “Lizzy, this is a bunch of horror stories. Maybe you can choose something a little less… Bloody?”

She pouted but went over to the graphic novels and picked out something else. Something a little less spooky. Luckily her second choice was a collection of silly dog comics. Both her dad’s were pleased with this and happily checked out that book for her along with a few books to read to Rory.

At the saloon everyone got the chocolate lava cake that Gus had made, with the exception of Rory. He was still a baby after all. When they actually got it Lizzy was mesmerized by what she called cake magic and watched as she poked at her cake until the cake barrier broke away and the hot fudgy center spilled out. Her eyes sparkled with joy.

“How do they do that?” She asked. “Can you make cake like this Papa?”

Apollyon shrugged. “I don’t think I can make it as good as Gus can.”

“Can you teach me how to make cake like this?”

“Hmm, I can try. Not sure how well it will turn out.”

“Oh, okay.” She looked to Sebastian. “Dad? Can you teach me how to make this cake?”

“Ah, probably not. I burn everything when it comes to cakes.”

Apollyon chuckled a little and ate his own cake. “Yeah, how do you do that? It’s so weird. Something to do with all the sugar in it or something? You just burn sugar?”

“Possibly.”

Lizzy pouted and ate some of her cake. As soon as it touched her lips she couldn’t keep that pout on her face. “Yummy!”


	5. The end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter. Hope you all enjoy it :D

Life continued on. The sun rose in the morning and set in the evening. The seasons came and the seasons went. The years ticked by. People lived. People loved. Things changed in the valley, all for the better. 

Apollyon and Robin worked together on a community project to build Penny and Pam a proper home. Penny and Sam started going out. That was a surprise to most but they were in love. Leah and Elliot started a children’s book together. Alex and Haley had been seen kissing during the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies one year. Maru moved out of her parents home and moved in with Harvey.Speaking of surprise relationships Shane and Emily actually started dating. That threw everyone for a loop. Abby herself had started dating a punk girl she met when she went to the city.

As for the family living on Hellfire farm, Lizzy and Rory had grown up a fair bit. Before anyone knew it, they were old enough to go to school, and by school it was Penny teaching them the basics. Jas and Vincent had become old enough to go to the high school in Grampleton. So things were all good.

The two children had taken well after their parents. Lizzy was very loud and outgoing and wanted to go on adventures outside, dragging Sebastian along with her. But she went on the best adventures with Apollyon so she ended up going to the mines a lot with him. In comparison Rory continued to stay quiet and prefered staying inside with Sebastian while he played with his toys or watched TV. He still enjoyed going outside and playing with the chickens.

Sebastian had finally managed to completely quit smoking. He’d also managed to get a job working with a bank doing cyber security. The kids didn’t really understand what he was doing and neither did Apollyon. Sebastian did his best to explain it and basically told them the bank paid him to try and break in to the bank using the internet. He then tells the bank how he got in and how easy it was. The kids thought it was cool.

Apollyon continued farming and working around Pelican town. He became extremely well respected among the community, just like his grandpa had been. He joked once that he was so well liked that he should run for mayor. Lewis didn’t seem to like that idea that much and had told him all about what the job entailed and how he couldn’t possibly do that and farm at the same time.

All in all everything was going well in Pelican town.

At the moment Penny and Sam were teaching Lizzy and Rory about music outside in the forest. Penny was telling them about the musical sounds in nature like bird calls. Sam was trying to teach them a little rhyme to make it easier for them to remember music notes.

However on this day Lizzy didn’t feel like learning music. “Miss Penny?”

“Yes Lizzy?”

“Are you and uncle Sam going to get married soon like dad and papa?”

Penny spluttered and went just as red as Sam did when she said that. “I um… Well getting married is a big decision to make. Both people have to think very hard if that’s what they both want and I um… Sam and I haven’t really talked much about that.”

Lizzy frowned a little. “Did dad and papa have to talk about that a lot?”

“I’m sure they did.” Reassured Penny. “They talked about it a lot and they love each other and… I um…”

Sam smiled a little and put his hand on her shoulder. “Hey, it’s getting close to lunch time. I think we left the picnic basket back at my place.”

“Ah, we did… I’ll go and get it. You be good for Sam while I’m gone.” She quickly got up and left. Penny could still get so easily flustered.

Rory frowned a little. “And off she goes…”

“That she does.” Muttered Lizzy. She stared at Sam. “So, can you tell us more about dad and papa? What were they like before they met? What is their story?”

Sam thought for a moment and started to strum on his guitar. “Well, how about I tell you a cool fairytale instead?”

Rory instantly perked up. “Story?”

“Yep a story.” Sam continued to play his guitar. “A story with monsters, and magic.”

That instantly got the two children invested and they happily sat quietly to listen to one of Sam’s stories.

“Many, many years ago in a magical land there was a monster boy. The monster boy lived in the land of metal and concrete. It made the monster boy sad so he ventured out and came to a small village full of wizards, mages, knights, bards, and magic.”

“What kind of monster was he?” Asked Rory.

Sam thought for a moment. “... Think about all those sad emotions that just make you feel bad and make you want to cry. The monster boy looked like that sadness.”

“That’s so sad.” Said Lizzy.

“It was.” Said Sam. He continued to play his guitar. “So the monster boy came to the village and decided he would to everything he could to be happy and make the other villagers like him. He wanted them to like him because he wanted to be a farmer and do nice things for everyone.

“Papa is a farmer.” Said Rory.”

“That he is. Now the monster boy was still sad, but everyone thought he was happy and gladly accepted him. While that made him happy to start with, the monster boy was still deeply sad so he went somewhere quiet and cried. Now living in this village was a young wizard in training. He heard the monster boy cry and they were both surprised to see each other. They tried to avoid each other after because they were so embarrassed.”

Lizzy frowned. “Wait, the wizard didn’t try to find out why the monster boy was sad? That’s mean.”

Sam shrugged. “The wizard was very awkward. But it was a good thing he was friends with a lady knight and a bard. The lady knight and bard encouraged the wizard to spend more time with the monster boy. Eventually the wizard and the monster boy got really close to each other. They became so close to each other that slowly started to fall in love with each other. But the young wizard didn’t know the monster boy’s secret. That he was the embodiment of sadness.”

“What does embodiment mean?” Asked Rory.

“Um… like the physical form of an idea?” suggested Sam. “Because he’s like the idea of sadness but in human form?”

“Ah, okay.”

Sam was thankful that was easily answered. “But one night some mean people from the city of steel and concrete came to the village to try and destroy the monster boy because they thought sadness shouldn’t exist. But kids, these people didn’t understand that happiness and sadness are things that will always be around. So despite them actually hurting the monster boy he still came back to life. To everyone around him he looked just like how you would expect sadness to look. Worst of all the young wizard he loved had seen him.”

Lizzy became upset. “Oh no. Did he say mean things to the monster boy?”

“No. The young wizard was surprised but he made sure the monster boy knew that he still loved him and was going to be staying with him. Around this time the bard, who was in a band with the lady knight and the young wizard, had a concert. The monster boy went with them to help them if they needed it, but then a crazy monster girl decided that she wanted to eat the monster boy. She tricked the young wizard into thinking that the monster boy was in love with her.”

“Evil monster girl.” Muttered Rory. “Evil…”

Sam nodded. “She was. But after she tricked the young wizard she ran away and waited till he was alone. She was mad that she couldn’t just eat the monster boy right then and there. So she cornered and kidnapped the young wizard, the lady knight, and the bard. The monster boy found out and ran to their rescue.”

“Did he win?” Asked Rory.

“Oh yeah he won.” Reassured Sam. “The monster boy fought the evil monster girl and saved them all. The lady knight and the bard were surprised and a little scared by the monster boy, but he was a good monster and the two of them were good for each other so they soon warmed up to the idea very quickly.”

“That’s good.” Said Lizzy. “I’d have been mad at them if they didn’t like the monster boy.”

Sam nodded. “Me too. So anyway it was around that time that the monster boy for a god and asked the god to make them not a monster. There was lots of back and forth between the god and the monster boy, but eventually the monster boy got his wish and he was no longer a monster.”

“What did he become?” Asked Rory.

“Well, the monster boy became just a boy.” Said Sam. “He decided to just be himself and the young wizard agreed and loved him no matter what he decided. The two lovers then decided to get married.”

Penny came back around that time with the picnic basket and smiled at them. “Hello children. Were you good for Sam?”

“Yeah, he told us a story.” Said Lizzy. “About a monster boy and a wizard and how they fell in love.”

Penny nodded and looked at Rory. “What part of the story did you like Rory?”

“The part where people were nice to the monster boy even though he was a sad monster.”

“Well that’s very good. I’m glad to hear.”

***

When the two of them got back to the house Apollyon was bandaging up his arm from a mining accident and Sebastian was cooking dinner. They asked the children about their day and Lizzy went on and on about their music lesson and the story. They made sure to ask Rory about the story too and were both amused by the abridged story of their life that Sam had told their kids.

They talked more about the story and the kids did point out they weren’t pleased by the lack of details. Rory wanted to know more about the talk with a god that the monster boy had. Lizzy wasn’t satisfied with the ending.

“I wanted more!” She whined. “They just got married and that was it. There has to be more to it!”

Sebastian shrugged. “What do you think happened after?”

“... They got a puppy.”

“A puppy?”

“A puppy.”

Rory agreed with his sister. “And a hamster. Like auntie Abby has.”

Apollyon chuckled and set the table. “Maybe they did. The story doesn’t have to end there just because the storyteller finished telling the story. You two have imaginations. Go ahead and make up your own stories. Tell us what happened after the monster boy and the young wizard got married.”

This got the two kids going on and on about cool things that the two characters could do. Sebastian managed to silence them for a short time when they got their cheesy cauliflower. He had gotten much better at cooking and didn’t burn food as much anymore. It was nice. 

As they talked Apollyon and Sebastian occasionally glanced over at each other and shared small smiled. They were wildly entertained by their children’s stories. They also seemed to like how creative their kids were. They suggested everything from flying on butterflies to making giant fighting robots.

Sebastian and Apollyon loved that their children were so creative. Maybe one day they would tell them the real story of how they got together and not the abridged version? They probably wouldn’t believe it at all, and to be honest it didn’t really matter to them. The two of them knew the truth and they were in love with each other, and loved their family.

Life continued on. The sun rose in the morning and set in the evening. The seasons came and the seasons went. The years ticked by. People lived. People loved. Things changed in the valley, all for the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading this story. If you just read this story, thank you. If you read everything in the series, thank you. If you left a comment, thank you. If you left a kudos, thank you. This series as a whole has meant a lot to me and I am glad so many people have liked it. I loved being able to share it with you all. 
> 
> Your support through this has been amazing and has made me incredibly happy. You're all angels. <3 <3 <3
> 
> I think I finally might go back to finishing a story I was writing for another fandom, lol.


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